Object of the Month

Portable TV “Combi-Vision 310”

The portable television “Combi-Vision 310” wasn't the first of its kind. After the K67 never made it into large-scale production, the TV “Combi-Vision 310” filled a market gap in the DDR. by Maria Bartholomäus(22 May 2019)

The story of the portable TV “Combi-Vision 310” has more to offer than one might expect. Many aspects of the GDR´s economic history are reflected in the creation of this model.

The “Combi-Vision 310” was not the first portable TV to be produced in the GDR: Already for the 20th anniversary of the GDR in 1969 it was planned to start production of the K67 model. The K67 was a high-quality product in state of the art design. Technical problems, production issues and the decision by COMECON, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, to allow the production of portable TVs exclusively to the USSR meant that the K67 would never go into large-scale production.

The “Combi-Vision 310” is a prime example for the “strategy to increase the production of consumer goods” implemented after Erich Honecker took office in 1971. The model was produced by „VEB Robotron-Elektronik Radeberg". Before implementing the Socialist Rationalization of Production the factory concentrated exclusively on the production of IT-equipment.

In order to match the new guidelines set for the supply of consumer goods the production of radios and TVs was restarted in 1973/74. In 1975 the “Combi-Vision 310” was presented during the Leipzig spring trade fare. There was indeed a high demand for this model as it filled a gap in the supply of consumer goods, but the price of 1.775,00 DDR-Mark meant it was not affordable for a lot of people.